Legendary college hoops coach Bob Knight is known best for two things: winning a heck of a lot of games, and shocking everyone with his often uncouth conduct. Chalk this one up in the latter category: In discussing the one-and-done culture of college basketball on ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike Tuesday, Knight charged that the NBA had "raped college basketball."
"I think, on top of it all, the NBA does a tremendous, a gigantic disservice to college basketball," Knight said of how it poaches top players before they've fully developed. "It's as though they've raped college basketball, in my opinion."
Knight had a legitimate point about teenage players leaping to the NBA before they've matured enough to handle the expectations, challenges, and pressures of the pros. But even in that context, it's an outrageous remark because of the gross misuse of the loaded word. And it's not the first time Knight has made a terrible rape analogy either. Back in the 1980s, Knight caught flak for answering a question about how he dealt with stress by saying, "I think that if rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it."
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